Spring came early this year. In fact, for all intents and purposes, it arrived in February as the latest Environment Canada weather summary for the month shows.

Perhaps the statistic that says the most is the mean (average) temperature for the month of 0.62 C (33 F) compared to the normal February mean of -3.4 C (26 F) which is an extraordinary departure from the mean.

The coldest it got the entire month was -9.4 C (15 F) which is far off the record February cold temperature of -31.8 C (-24 F) in February 1996. There wasn’t a single day in February when the temperature didn’t climb above the freezing mark, hitting a high of 11.0 C (51 F) on Feb. 28.

This compares to the warmest February day ever of 13. 5 C in 1995.

It was also very dry in February with only 1.8 cm of snow recorded (little more than an inch) as well as 2.4 mm of rain. No wonder the valley bottom cross-country skiing was so poor.

The month started out with a snowcover of 16 cm (about seven inches) at the airport weather station. but by Feb. 18 the snow was basically gone.

As March begins, there appears to be no end in sight to the early spring temperatures and the Weather Network’s spring outlook is calling for more of the same.

In a long-range forecast issued Thursday, the Weather Network said a weakening El Nino will continue to affect B.C., bringing above normal temperatures and below normal precipitation. The East Kootenay, in fact, is currently in a drought pattern with precipitation below normal from October through February. This could mean a bad fire year this summer.

Meanwhile Chris Scott, Forecast Operations Manager with the Weather Network, says with spring approaching we should be expecting all kinds of weather.

“Spring weather across most of the country can seem like a roller coaster. It’s all about the sun this time of the year because it packs a bigger energy punch than in the fall.”

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